Complexity
by Dark Ride
Summary: They were two complex numbers amidst rational and real ones. Or: Chloe learns about the higher math to distract herself. The distraction is more than successful. Chloe/Rush smut
1. Complexity

**Disclaimer:** Stargate Universe doesn't belong to me.  
**A/N:** Takes place after Deliverance. Obviously non-canon after that. This was also supposed to be a quick PWP. Things didn't exactly work out that way.

* * *

"So, the _e^x_ derived always remains the _e^x_, correct?"

"Yeah. It's one of the constants. It never changes."

Chloe looked at the screen a moment longer, memorizing the constant and then pointed at another equation.

"So, if I have a function _f(x)_, which is multiplied by the _e_ and I derive them both, I'm really only deriving the _f(x)_."

"Ah, not exactly," Eli said. "You are deriving the whole multiplication and there are different rules for that. Here, you've got _x^n_ which derives to-" he waited for her to finish.

"- to _nx^n-1_, I know."

"Right. But _x^n_ is only one part here, a function _f(x)_, while the _e_ is the function _g(x)_ - forget about the fact there's no _x_ for now - and so you have to derive it as _[f(x)g(x)]'_ which is supposed to go like-"

"But the _e_ is not a function in this case, it is a constant and Chloe was right in that she only needs to derive the function _f(x)_, in this case _x^n_."

Both Chloe and Eli jumped in surprise, Eli looking more guilty than Chloe by far. Chloe knew he was supposed to be watching over the slowly being repaired shield system but since they had the laptop next to the console which was set up with a link from the bridge to feed over all of the relevant data, she didn't see any harm in it. Dr. Nicholas Rush, on the other hand, might. He walked over to where they were huddled over Eli's laptop and looked at the screen, sneering a bit.

"May I ask why the two of you would waste time with basics like that?" he asked Eli pointedly.

"It was my fault, Dr. Rush. I asked him to explain some things to me," Chloe wouldn't let Eli take blame for this. Rush looked at her.

"You should still be able to do this kind of mathematics in your sleep."

"And I can but I don't know why," she pointed out. "I know what the right answer is supposed to be but I don't know why it is the right answer. And I want to know."

"So you asked **Eli** to teach you?" Rush asked sarcastically.

"Hello, Mathboy?" Eli grumbled.

"Not the point, Eli," Rush told him as he activated his console. The control interface room was still in use, even if the main activities moved to the bridge. It was now used to go over the less relevant data or to work on a new projects. "You have no teaching experience to speak of and relating an instinctual knowledge is harder than you think, as you have no doubt experienced. But even if it wasn't, that's no excuse for ditching your work."

"Right, shield watch," Eli looked over at Chloe. "Do you want to continue later or..." he trailed off.

"I'll let you know, okay?" she smiled tightly and he packed up the laptop and headed back to the bridge. Chloe rubbed her hands together, then rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. She wanted to ask but she wasn't sure how Rush would react. He was usually pleasant to her when they were alone but he had been ticked off by Eli's slacking - even if Chloe had been the one to be blamed for that - and she didn't want to make it worse.

"What is it, Chloe?" he asked without looking up from the console.

"Can I help? With anything?" she blurted out. He raised his head at that and Chloe hurried to explain. "It's just, I would like something to do and I would usually go and help T.J. but the infirmary's almost empty and the inventory is taken so she doesn't need my help with anything and, frankly, I really don't like plants anymore, so hydroponics is out, too."

She didn't add that most of the people on the ship were wary of her and she didn't want to be stared at with suspicion any more than she had to. There was a beep from the other console and Chloe looked at it to see a series of numbers scrolling down.

"The logs of the power reserves data. Take a look and take note of all the changes in the power distribution that have come to pass since our arrival at the ship. Try and find either a pattern or any large jumps, incongruities, things that are out of normal."

"Thanks," she said, receiving only a nod in acknowledgement as Rush went back to his own work.

* * *

Several hours later, Chloe's eyes burned and her legs hurt from standing for so long. She had noticed, though, that the power reserves got bigger after every recharge, especially if there had been an opening up of a previously unused section beforehand. She had pointed it out to Rush, who had said it had been to be expected, _Destiny_ compensating for the increasing demands of her crew.

Chloe no longer found it strange to talk about _Destiny_ as a living thing. Too much had happened in the past year or so to be dismissive of the ship's program and mission. Chloe had been surprised to find herself a believer in 'the mission', but for all of the bad things that had happened to her, she also recognized how much she had grown for having gone through them. There was no growth without a pain, it seemed.

"Chloe," Rush spoke to her quietly and she jerked her head up, having been lost in thoughts for some time. "You can go, if you're done."

The thought of going back to her room didn't hold much appeal. She had already spent far too much time inside.

"Don't you need help with anything else?" she asked tentatively. Rush gave her a long look.

"It won't help," he said.

"What?"

"Burying yourself in work to escape from things you don't wanna think about isn't a good or permanent solution," he told her before his mouth twitched in something that might have been a smile. "Trust me on that."

"I know. It's just, people still look at me with suspicion and Matt, well," Chloe sighed. "I still feel hurt over what he did."

"I was under the impression Lieutenant Scott did his best to be supportive of your situation," Rush commented.

"Yeah, he was supportive and optimistic when he visited me. Visited," she emphasized. "I understand that he had duties to carry out, but, I don't know, sometimes it felt like I was just another obligation to him. I don't want to be unfair, I know he was trying and that it was hard for him to see me like that but..." she trailed off awkwardly. "Knowing it doesn't change how lonely I felt at the time."

Rush didn't say anything to that and Chloe was glad for it. He would not be her first choice of a confidante but Eli was too close to her and Matt both and she wouldn't ask him to pick sides. Besides, Rush had a way of making your personal problems seem unimportant in the grand scale of things. Which kind of sucked and made him look like a first-grade bastard with no feelings.

Then again, he had been the only one to tell her to stop pitying herself and try and see the advantages of her situation as compared to everyone else's false assurances that things would somehow work out. And in the end, it had been his idea that led to her being cured.

Rush had been simply too complex to figure out easily. Chloe snorted as a thought occured to her.

"What is it?" he asked. Chloe bit her lip to stop from chuckling. The comparison offered itself too easily.

"Before we started working on derivations, Eli gave me a rundown course on number classes," she started explaining. Rush gave her a half-interested, half-confused look and she continued. "You know, natural numbers, integral numbers, real numbers? Well, I remembered from school that the class of real numbers has some firm rules, like you can't square root a negative number? But Eli said that there is a class of complex numbers where the rule doesn't apply."

"The imaginary unit _i_ being -1 square rooted, yes. A basic math."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't say basic. Still, it just occured to me that if people were numbers, you would be a complex one."

"Really?" there was an amusement lacing his voice. "Care to explain why?"

"Because normal rules don't apply to you. Or you make them not apply."

"I take that as a compliment."

"Definitely," she grinned.

"And what class of numbers do you belong to?"

"Real numbers with an aspiration of becoming a complex one."

"A worthy ambition," he said teasingly and Chloe laughed. "So tell me, do you have more insight about people's number categories?"

"Well, Eli is a complex number, too, but he thinks himself a real one."

Rush nodded.

"He's still wary of applying his full potential," he agreed. Chloe leaned against her console, thinking over the other people on the ship.

"I think most of the people would be rational or even real numbers, in that they are held back by the general rules and never trying to reach beyond. But some are even more constrained."

"Colonel Young, for example?" Rush suggested and Chloe giggled. "Now, he's definitely a perfect example of an integer number thinking himself a complex one."

Chloe burst out laughing.

"You are biased," she accused playfully and Rush shrugged.

"We all have our faults, Chloe," he said but there was a smile on his face, too. She was still laughing when the door hissed open and Adam Brody walked in, pausing at the sight of the two of them.

"Hey," he greeted. "What's so funny?"

"Mathematics," Rush said in a deadpan voice which prompted a new round of giggles from Chloe. Brody looked between the two of them before shrugging it off and walking over to Chloe's console.

"Are you finished?" he asked and Chloe nodded, shutting down the logs she had been looking over.

"All yours," she stepped away from the console. Brody waited for a moment longer before taking her place and Chloe frowned. He was wary of her, too. She looked over at Rush who was watching it all with a blank face. Her good mood evaporating, she made to leave the room and go back to her quarters, to spend another night alone.

"Chloe?" Rush said quietly and she looked at him. "I was working on some calculations in the corridor, if you want to have a look. The code is still the same."

"Thanks," she replied, smiling a little. "I think I'll check it out."

* * *

It was like and yet unlike her previous blackouts. One moment she was standing before the wall where Rush's calculations ended, the next she was writing down furiously the numbers and symbols from her mind. There was a certain beauty in the equations she was producing, the elegant simplicity of order and rules. Chloe hadn't been much of a math lover during her years as a high school student, even if the dislike had stemmed more from the fact that unless you had been a geek, math had not been supposed to be liked, rather than because of the subject itself.

Later, the only math she had needed in her political studies had been statistics. Derivations, integrals, complex numbers, those had been for the natural sciences' students, not Chloe Armstrong, the senator's daughter who had been getting ready to walk in her father's footsteps.

Her stay on _Destiny_ had changed that. She could have played the role she had been trained for, sure, but with her father gone, what would have been the point? The blue aliens and the changes they had wrought in her brain had chosen a different course for her and for now, she was willing to give it a try. After all, there were enough players in the political game onboard but only she was able to make FTL jumps calculations in her head.

The door to the corridor hissed open as she contemplated her work so far. Rush walked in, not in the least surprised to see her there.

"Keeping busy?" he asked as he came to stand next to her, studying the writing she had done.

"It's a way to pass time," she replied, shrugging. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing," he said in the same tone he had when looking at her work in the infirmary. He reached out to trace some symbols and added quietly. "It's perfect."

Chloe looked down, suddenly shy. Rush was spare with his praise, everyone knew that. Even Eli had to work hard to earn even a grudging nod from him. So what made her special?

"It's not really me," she spoke hesitantly. "It's whatever they did to me."

"I had a teacher in my first year in Oxford," Rush said equally quietly. "She used to tell us at the end of every lecture that as long as we put in our best efforts, we'd be able to learn anything, regardless of any innate talent or lack of it. Except for singing because the shape of the vocal chords is what's important there."

Chloe turned her head to face him. He wasn't looking at her, still staring at her equations.

"What does that mean for me?"

"The aliens might have jumpstarted your brain but the choice to use what you gained was your own doing. After you were cured, you could've chosen not to pry into what was left of your skills. Why did you?"

"I told you, I wanted to be useful."

"And?"

Chloe bit her lip. Was there another reason for her to try and see how much she had retained of her knowledge? Yes, there was.

"I felt they owed me something for what they did to me. After what I went through, I deserved something good to happen to me. This ability," she gestured at the wall. "It makes me special. I like being special," she admitted. Rush looked at her sharply.

"Chloe, you have always been special," he scolded her.

"Not when compared to you or Eli or the other people onboard. I was the least prepared of all, contributed almost nothing to the mission. I was a burden. Now I'm not. It's as simple as that."

He remained silent, watching her. She held his gaze, not initimidated by him as the other people on the ship seemed to be. He looked away first, clearing his throat.

"You should go and get some rest. It's late and Lieutenant Scott will worry about you."

"He won't," she said with conviction. "I have yet to move back with him," she explained.

"He can't be very happy about that," Rush remarked in a neutral tone. Chloe shrugged.

"He pulled away first. He wouldn't be with me even when it was clear I wasn't contagious. I love him but I'm not sure if I'm in love with him. Does that make sense?"

"A little," he assured her. "Certainly more sense than you confiding in me," he added in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

"I wouldn't say that. We shared secrets before, didn't we?"

"Aye, we did."

The silence stretched between them, familiar and comfortable. They understood each other well, Chloe realized. Their pasts, their age difference, their at times conflicting opinions, they didn't mean much in the context of the bigger picture. Kindred souls, she thought it was called. Or maybe two complex numbers in the midst of real ones.

"Nicholas?" she asked, realizing that she had never before called him that. He was Rush when she talked to other people and when they were alone, she simply eschewed any distinction beyond **you**.

"Yes?" he sounded a bit perplexed at her form of address but Chloe didn't care for his confusion. Their height close enough so she didn't have to stand on her toes, she took a hold of his face and decisively pressed her lips against his. He didn't react beyond a quick intake of breath and Chloe pulled away after a few seconds of contact.

"Is this okay?" she asked.

"It could complicate things," he said and well, it wasn't an outright denial.

"Things have been complicated for months," she pointed out. "This is simple in comparison."

"I guess it is," he agreed and she leaned in to kiss him again. He returned the kiss this time, opening his mouth to her as he pulled her closer until she was plastered against him. One of his hands was splayed across her lower back, the other holding the back of her head, his fingers entangled in her hair. Chloe wound her arms around his neck, the thrill of being physically close to another person after her long isolation almost intoxicating.

"Shall we move?" his voice was wonderfully rough against her ear and Chloe ground her hips against his in approval.

"No," she breathed out as he tilted her head back so he could nip his way down her jaw and throat towards her collarbone, his beard providing an unfamiliar but not unwelcome scratching against her skin. "It's fitting to do it here."

She felt his mouth curve in a smirk against her skin and then he was tugging at the bottom of her top, his thumbs pressing against her sides as he dragged it up and off. She did the same to him, the layers of his clothes more numerous than hers. He was thin, she noticed as her hands grazed against his ribs, each one prominent enough that she could count them all. He neglected himself to work on the ship, she knew that much even before but only now as they were getting naked did she realize just how much it was.

If he took note of her sudden concern, he said nothing, cupping one of her breasts in his hand instead, grazing his work-roughened thumb across the nipple until it was stiff and taut and then did the same to the other. Rush, no, Nicholas, was almost casual in the speed and efficiency with which he caressed her. Then again, he had years of experience on her and anyone capable of his focus had a potential of being a great lover.

They were both relatively quiet as their took off each other's clothes, only their panting breaths and an occasional moan disturbing the silence of the corridor. It wasn't the need for secrecy, not exactly. It was more like any words between them were superfluous and uneeded. She had no need to ask for more pressure of his fingers on her clit when the arching of her back spoke clearly. And he didn't need to tell her to hold onto him as he backed her into the wall that had yet to be written upon, their clothes and shoes discarded carelessly to the ground.

She was flexible from her yoga exercises and it was easy to cross her ankles behind his back as he sank into her, urging him on as he started moving at a tempo that was too slow for her taste. She felt him grin into her neck as her legs tightened around his waist and she yelped when he playfully pinched her ass, rubbing the sting afterwards.

"No need to hurry," he murmured and slowed down even more, his thrusts measured and deep and Chloe rolled her head back, giving up the control to him. The cold of the metal wall at her back helped her to stay grounded, the chills a pleasant counterpoint to the heat in her lower body. Nicholas suddenly pulled her closer, transferring more of their shared weight to the wall. She wondered at that until he pushed his right hand between her legs, working his talented fingers against her clit. She didn't realize how close to a climax she had already been and she came with a gasp, her back arching, pressing her upper body tighter against her lover.

He stopped moving while she shook in her orgasm, a pleased smirk on his face.

"One more for the road?"

And she could have killed him for that sentence alone but his accent was thicker than she ever heard, the Rs resonating throughout her body down between her legs and she only nodded, biting at her lip as he started moving, faster than before but no less in control. She clutched at his shoulders and buried her head against his neck, her hips bucking almost of their own volition.

It didn't take long for him to reach the point she was familiar with, his hands digging into her hips almost painfully and his thrusts hard and fast. She wasn't sure if she would come close before or after him - she knew better than to believe in simultaneous orgasms during the first time - but he was obviously thinking of her and moved his hand off her hip to once again tend to her clit.

"Is it safe inside?" Nicholas growled into her ear and it took her a moment to comprehend what he was asking and then she nodded, breathing out "Yes", tightening her grip on him as his thrusts grew erratic and desperate and then he pressed into her and stilled, a low groan escaping him as he squeezed his eyes shut and it was worth losing an orgasm to see him so undone.

They sank to the ground together, him taking the weight as she sprawled across him while they caught their breaths. He was still in her, though and Chloe didn't mind in the least, even if she was sweaty and sticky and disheveled.

He pushed her hair from her face, smiling at her and she grinned back, suddenly elated.

"Thanks," she said. His mouth quirked in that smirk she was coming to recognize as pleased.

"I would say anytime but I don't wish to be presumptuous."

She laughed giddily, the aftermath making her feel happy and careless.

"Presume away," she told him and pulled him into another kiss. There would be trouble with this, she wasn't so naive as to think any different, but she deserved this after everything. After all, she was a complex number, not bound by the normal rules.


	2. Simplicity

**Disclaimer:** Stargate Universe doesn't belong to me.  
**A/N:** A second chapter. Surprised me just as much as you. But _brontegirl89_ asked about a possibility of this going on and I had some ideas, so this might go on for a while longer. The question is just how much I adhere to post-Deliverance canon. Any opinions?

* * *

Chloe knew something was wrong with Eli the moment she came into the mess hall. He looked up from his breakfast, spotted her, his eyes went wide and then he blushed. He hadn't blushed around her in months and Chloe wondered what could be the reason.

"Morning," she greeted him just as warmly as usual but he only mumbled in return and stared down at his plate. "Hey, is something wrong?" she tried again and he raised his head to stare at her.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" he asked and Chloe frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Shit, you don't know. Of course, you don't know," Eli rambled nervously. "It was meant to be secret, after all and I should have guessed you aren't into the kinky stuff like that but-"

Chloe reached over, clamped her hand over Eli's mouth and glared.

"What. Are. You. Talking. About?" she enunciated slowly. Eli gulped and she took off her hand to let him answer.

"The chalk board corridor is under a Kino surveillance," he whispered quickly and Chloe sat back in surprise.

"Shit!" she let out, understanding immediately what Eli had meant. "Who knows?"

"Just me, for now, but I'll have to report to Colonel Young and, what the hell were you thinking?" he cried out and Chloe looked around, seeing the stares they were starting to attract.

"Could we talk about it elsewhere?" she asked and when Eli nodded, she stood up, leading him away from the mess and into the first deserted corridor she could find. Once there, she took a deep breath before straightening up and looking at him.

"Are you angry with me?"

"I... I don't know. God, Chloe, you slept with Rush. I don't know what I'm supposed to think."

Chloe shrugged.

"That I'm a grown woman who's perfectly capable of making her own choices?" she suggested archly but then her voice softened. "It's hard to explain, Eli. I have been an outcast these past few months. A freak turning into an alien. A threat to the ship. Even you and Matt looked at me with a pity. How long did it take Colonel Young to come and visit me? I wanted to feel like me again and, hard as it is to imagine, Rush makes me feel normal. Relatively speaking."

"Rush? You had sex with him, in the chalk board corridor no less, and you still call him Rush?" Eli sputtered and Chloe started laughing with him. "That is so messed up."

"It's a force of habit," she defended herself. Eli nodded but still snickered before he became serious again.

"What's really going on? Are you an item now or what?"

"I don't know. Last night was a spur of the moment thing and we didn't really discuss it. There is also Matt to consider and..." Chloe leaned her head back against the wall and sighed. "I thought it was simple but it's not, is it?"

"No, it's a mess," Eli agreed. Chloe closed her eyes for a moment. She had slept well but she felt tired all of a sudden.

"Could you wait for a bit before reporting to the Colonel?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. "I'm not exactly looking forward to how he'll react."

"I fail to see why he should have any say in my personal life," Chloe muttered.

"It involves Rush," Eli pointed out. "Anything to do with him tends to set Colonel off. And he is kinda protective of you, so he'll go after Rush for that alone."

"How much have you seen, Eli?" she asked and he raised his hands defensively.

"Whoa, whoa. I stopped watching as soon as it became clear what was about to happen. I'm not a pervert!"

"I'm not saying you are," she soothed. "I meant, did you see who initiated things?"

"You did," Eli replied and Chloe smiled.

"Exactly. I did. I wasn't forced or manipulated into it. I wanted it to happen and it did. End of the story. I'll tell you the truth, Eli. I don't know where this thing with Rush is going but I want to find out without an outside interference. A couple of days to figure things out is all I need. Can you give me that much?"

She was fairly sure Eli would heed her request. They were best friends, after all. He thought for a moment and she almost saw the moment he decided to agree.

"Sure. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise."

She reached out and squeezed his hand for a moment, smiling. And then she let go and set out for the bridge. There were some matters that needed clearing up, sooner rather than later. Half-way there, though, Chloe heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she spotted Matt who was jogging down the corridor.

He must have been doing his morning run. He was smiling at seeing her and Chloe felt a stab of guilt. They weren't officially separated, not yet. For all she knew, Matt was being considerate and giving her space while she was already planning her life without him being such an important part of it as he had used to be.

"Hey, I almost didn't recognize you, stranger," he joked when he came to a stop next to her. Chloe forced a smile.

"Sorry about that, I should have come by sooner."

"Take your time, Chloe. I'll be waiting."

And he was looking so earnest saying that that Chloe felt like the lowest of lows.

"Matt," she started saying but paused, at a momentary loss how to continue. "I... I don't think you should. Wait for me, that is."

He frowned at her.

"Chloe?"

_Like a band aid,_ she thought, _quick and with a momentary pain that passes quickly._

"I'm not moving back with you. I'm sorry but we are over."

She cringed at how high-school it sounded but her last break-up had been with Josh who had then gone on to screw her supposed best friend. And now she was ending things with a guy who had professed to love her and she him because he hadn't been there for her when she had been turning into an alien and she still felt disconnected from him because of that. Maybe the fault was solely in her and she should reconsider having any personal relationships with her track record.

"You don't mean that," Matt said. "I know it hasn't been the best between us lately but we can work through this. I still love you."

"And I love you but it just isn't enough," Chloe told him sadly. It wouldn't be fair for either of them to continue their relationship, not when so many things had changed - in them, around them and between them.

"You really mean it, don't you?"

She nodded, looking down.

"I'm not the same as I used to be. I may look the same but something in me has changed forever. I can still do the FTL calculations and Eli's been teaching me some math and even Rush was impressed by my work in the chalk board corridor."

The double meaning of her words occured to her a moment later and she was grateful that her hair hid most of her face from Matt. He wasn't really looking at her, though, staring instead over her head.

"So that's it?" he asked. "You won't even try?"

"Better to end it now while we can still salvage our friendship," she retorted, stung by his implied accusation. "I don't want us at odds, Matt and we can't afford that, either, not out here. I will always cherish our time together but sometimes, things just don't work out and this is one of those times."

"So, thank you for the good times and goodbye, right?" he snorted but then he shook his head sadly. "I won't stop hoping, Chloe."

"You wouldn't be you if you did but I won't change my mind."

They stood in silence, the atmosphere more than a bit awkward. And then Matt stepped back from her.

"Well, I still have more than a mile to finish. So I guess I'll be seeing you around?"

"Yeah, see you around."

She watched his figure jog away until he turned the corner and disappeared from view and she couldn't help but feel a bit better. She had been putting this off for long enough and all that was left to clear was where exactly she stood with Rush. Hopefully, with her personal life sorted out, the rest would fall in place eventually.

* * *

Nicholas - Eli was right that calling him Rush after everything between them was messed up - sat in the command chair, focusing on a screen. Brody and Volker sat at the front left and right consoles respectively and didn't seem to pay her more attention than Nicholas did. Good.

"Hey," she greeted him, coming to a stop a couple of steps to his right. He looked at her and the intense focus in his face lessened a bit.

"Hey yourself," he returned, looking her over. "How are you?"

"Great, actually," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, wondering how to broach the subject. Strangely, she was more nervous about confronting him than she had been Matt. "I see you're busy," she commented, nodding toward the screen. He turned it in her direction, tapping at the output numbers.

"The power reserves data from yesterday. I'm trying to see if we could reroute some power from the unused sections of the ship to the shields."

"Sounds important."

"The program is still in a search mode, I can spare a minute or two."

"Wow, don't I feel important?" she joked and he smirked, his eyes falling towards the other two men.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly. Chloe was still somewhat out of sorts due to her talk with Matt but her initial reason for talking with Nicholas was more important.

"I talked to Eli earlier. Did you know that the chalk board corridor is under a Kino surveillance?"

He understood immediately, she could see and even if she didn't recognize the word he used, she was pretty sure it was a curse.

"He just cannae keep his nose out of things, can he?"

"Eli didn't-" she started saying but he cut her off.

"Not Eli. Colonel Young. Eli is a goddamn doormat, he wouldn't do that on his own."

"That goddamn doormat agreed to sit on the records from last night until we figured things out," she hissed, careful not to draw any attention. Nicholas had the grace to look slightly chastised.

"Why can't he just erase them?"

"I didn't ask."

"You should have," he said as if that was a perfect and obvious solution and Chloe took a quick breath. Letting it out, she leaned over, whispering furiously.

"Well, sorry for not thinking of the obvious. Not all of us are geniuses here."

He gave her a contemplative look and then stood up.

"Keep working, I'll be just a moment," he called out to Volker and Brody and left the bridge, Chloe following close by. The door closed behind them with a hiss and Nicholas turned to her, crossing his arms. "Now, what is all of this really about?"

Chloe slumped against the wall.

"I don't know. I guess I expected to have more time to think about everything. Eli now knows we had sex and he asked me what you and I were and I had no idea what to tell him and then I ran into Matt and ended things for good but... I just don't know. I thought it was simple but it's not. It's all complicated and I hate the uncertainty."

"So now that you and Lieutenant Scott are no longer together you want us to define our relationship," he stated simply.

"Do we even have one?" Chloe asked pointedly. "I mean, we had sex and it was good but was it just a one-time thing or could this be something more?"

"What do you want it to be, Chloe?" he asked pointedly. "I already told you I wouldn't mind if this went on but if it doesn't..." he shrugged. "One good memory is still better than no memory at all."

"I want to give it a try," she admitted. "Not just for the physical part but also..." she sighed and looked to the side. "I laughed yesterday. Do you know how long has it been since I laughed?"

"I would guess a while."

"Right. A while. That's one way to put it," she muttered before she looked up from where she was staring at her shoes. "What are we going to do?"

"Small steps, Chloe. We don't have to make all the decisions now. For now we agree to give it a try without labeling things. We get along well and we're rather compatible, in several things. Let it be enough for now."

"Kinda like a 'friends with benefits' thing?" she suggested and Nicholas nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, that could work. We can always adjust it later."

"Okay," she said. "So, I'll see you later tonight?"

"Earlier than that, I think. The results of the diagnostic of the power reserves data should be ready by then and your assistance would be welcome."

Chloe nodded and Nicholas straightened up and started walking down the corridor away from the bridge.

"Erm, Nicholas?" Chloe called out after him. "Aren't you going back to the bridge?"

"In a minute. I need a quick word with Eli first."

It took Chloe a minute to realize what he planned on doing and by then it was too late and he was gone from sight. Well, Eli had been standing up for himself more as of late and if, in this particular case, Nicholas suceeded in intimidating him into deleting the evidence of their indiscretion, Chloe wouldn't be particularly upset about it. Just the way it had been accomplished.

* * *

**A/N 2**: I'm ending it here for now. Next chapter should be smutty again. Also, I strongly dislike Scott but I don't believe in character bashing so I hope I didn't butcher him too much.


End file.
